


A Burden Taken

by Akira_of_the_Twilight



Series: A Deep and Intimate Pain [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Divergence - Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 3, Canon-Typical Violence, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hydra (Marvel), M/M, POV Multiple, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 06:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5487200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akira_of_the_Twilight/pseuds/Akira_of_the_Twilight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When soul mates cross paths, they take away each others' pain, whether or not they ever meet again.</p><p>Tony crossed paths with his soul mate at a young age.</p><p>It was during a murder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AvocadoLove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvocadoLove/gifts).



> This story is for [AvocadoLove](http://awesomeavocadolove.tumblr.com/) who seems to share my love of Stuckony and Soul Mate AUs. Alas, this fic is for the WinterIron Holiday Exchange, so no Stuckony; however, hopefully the fact that it is a Soul Mate AU makes up for it. Happy holidays.
> 
> Also, a special thanks to [Towaneko](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Towaneko/), who beta read and edited this story. You are amazing and a treasure.

Tony breathed deep as he slid down against the bark of a tree. His breath came out in white, warm puffs of air in the chill of the night. Soft orchestra music filtered out through the mansion’s windows.

Tony tugged on the collar of his tux. He hated these parties so much. They were so boring. He much rather be home modifying his computer or working on the blueprints of his robot dog. Why his parents forced him along on these parties made no sense to him. No one at these parties was his age, and all the old people ignored him except for a few, and those few always pinched his cheeks or did something embarrassingly grandma-like.

Tony rubbed his arm where his dad had grabbed him after he’d told his dad as much. He massaged the bruise he felt forming there and bit his bottom lip. The flesh was still tender.

Tony glanced up shyly at the mansion, torn between what he wanted to do and what his brain was telling him he needed to do if he didn’t want to risk another bruise.

His dad wouldn’t miss him for another two minutes, right?

Tony hugged his knees to his chest, wallowing in self-pity and frustration at his predicament.

A faint, high-pitched screech lured Tony’s attention to one of the mansion windows.

Tony sucked in a sharp breath as a man with a metal arm and dressed in dark clothing climbed out of one of the windows and swung himself onto the roof. The man landed with the grace and poise of a large cat, his back facing Tony.

The man glanced over his shoulders. The movement allowed Tony a quick glimpse of the man’s face. Tony could not perceive the man’s facial features from a distance, but he did see a black mask that covered the lower half of the man’s face.

The man continued to survey the area with his back to Tony. He bowed his head and raised his hand to his ear.

Images from spy movies played in Tony’s head, and Tony’s heartbeat skyrocketed with excitement and curiosity.

A moment later, the man in black sprinted across the rooftop and jumped off the other side, disappearing into the darkness.

It was the coolest thing Tony had ever seen. Or maybe the second coolest? That arm had looked pretty groovy. Tony’s fingers twitched with the need to dismantle and prod the arm until he knew all of its secrets.

“Tony? Tony, are you out here?” Jarvis hollered.

Tony cringed. “I’m here.”

Jarvis hurried to Tony. His face was red from running and his hair was in slight disarray, but otherwise he looked as immaculate as ever. “Sir Tony, there you are. You had me quite worried when your mother noted your lack of presence.”

Tony ducked his head between his shoulders. “My dad didn’t notice, did he?”

Jarvis sighed. A sorrowful expression dragged down his face. “Your father made no comment, but I’m afraid he will notice your absence soon. Mr. Hampenstair is about to make an announcement.”

Tony closed his eyes and for the briefest second wished he could stop time. He then forced himself to stand and follow Jarvis back to the party where he’d be forced to feel his life drain away every millisecond that passed.

Later that night, Tony and all of the guests were surprised when a piercing scream interrupted Mr. Hampenstair’s speech.

Mrs. Hampenstair had been found murdered in her bedroom.

* * *

It had been three hours since Mrs. Hampenstair’s body had been found, yet the police still refused to let any of the partygoers leave.

Howard paced around the guest room Tony and Maria were in. Tony was seated on the bed with his mom. She rubbed soothing circles into Tony’s back. “Calm down, dear. They will all let us go in due time.”

Howard swirled his scotch then downed half the glass. “’In due time?’ They should have let us go hours ago! Do they have no idea who I am? I fuckin’ built their guns.”

“Honey, don’t exaggerate.”

“You think without my contribution to weapons development they’d still have the guns they have now?”

“No, dear, but—”

“The police are just looking for information, right?” Tony piped up. He was terrified of his father’s anger, but he was more frightened of what happened when his parents fought. “What if we give them some?”

Howard scoffed. “Unless you saw the murderer then there is nothing we can say, which is exactly why we should be allowed to go. Some of us actually do important things with our lives.”

“I might have.” Tony sat up straighter. Excitement and realization raced like electricity through his veins. “I saw a man with a metal arm and dressed in black climb out from one of the windows and disappear.”

Howard scowled. “What a wonderful imagination you have, Tony. Next time use it to create something useful and not some ridiculous story.”

“But I did see a man!”

Maria wrapped her arms around Tony and pulled him back. Tony hadn’t even realized that he had half lunged himself at his father.

Howard sneered. “Feel free to tell the police your story then. I’d love to see how they’ll react.”

“I will.” Tony nodded his head in determination.

He was humiliated twenty minutes later when the officer assigned to question his family laughed at him.

Tony didn’t bring up the man with the metal arm again.

* * *

It hadn’t been twenty-four hours since the murder before Tony felt a tingling all around his skull.

Tony frowned and put down his model toy car to go in search of Jarvis. He found his butler prepping dinner in the kitchen.

Tony wandered up to Jarvis and tugged on the pink apron the man was wearing to get his attention. “My head feels weird.”

Jarvis stopped in the middle of slicing vegetables to peer down at Tony. “What kind of weird?”

Tony scrunched up his face. “Weird. Like it tickles, but not really.” Tony prodded the base of his skull with his fingers. “Like there is some kind of pressure there. Maybe a tumor?”

“Did you hit your head on something?”

“No.” Tony scowled, still sore from the lack of belief he’d received from the adults the other night when he told them about the man with the metal arm. Why did they treat him like he was stupid? “It just feels weird.”

Jarvis frowned. His eyes roved over Tony, as if searching for something. A moment later, Jarvis smiled politely at Tony and bent down so he was a little closer to Tony’s level. “Tony,  you know about soul mates, right?”

“Duh.” Tony rolled his eyes. It was all any romantic movie was about. It also showed up in almost every Disney movie too.

Soul mates upon crossing paths could take away each others’ pain. There was usually some sort of sensation to indicate when—“Oh!” Tony covered his mouth with his hands.

Disbelief rushed through him, and he found himself mentally chasing the source of the tingling sensation. That was how it worked, right? Soul mates didn’t have to cross paths again in order to take away each other’s pain. They just had to find the source and tug on it? Or just accept the pain, right?

Tony wasn’t a fan of pain, but he’d happily take it on if it meant helping his soul mate. Plus, it would let his soul mate know they’d crossed paths. Then they could retrace their steps and find each—

“Now, it may not be your soul mate, Tony, but it is—”

Tony screamed.

White hot pain seared his skull.

He blacked out.

* * *

The Asset tensed, his chest heaving as he took pain-bracing breaths.

Something was wrong.

He was strapped to the chair and he could feel the rush of electrical currents racing through his skull, but the pain that should accompany it wasn’t there anymore.

He could think.

He wasn’t supposed to be thinking.

He wasn’t supposed to have any thoughts beyond pain and the bright light overhead.

Pieces of his thoughts were slippery though. Images, voices, smells, and tastes all swirled together, becoming a blur of sensation.

The electric current running through his brain stopped.

He released a shaky breath. The ones in charge of wiping him clean began the slow process of disconnecting him from the chair.

They asked him questions to be sure he was in proper working order.

He answered them.

None of them asked about whether he had felt pain or not.

His handler stepped out from the small room’s corner and gave him the command to follow.

The Asset obeyed, never once mentioning the lack of pain.

It was not in his protocols to question his handlers, the doctors, or their equipment.

* * *

“You really don’t comprehend the problem with this?” Howard’s voice cut through the fog in Tony’s head like a knife.

“I understand why you are concerned, but this is supposed to be a good thing. We shouldn’t—”

Howard’s bitter laugh interrupted Maria. “’A good thing,’ Maria? ‘A good thing?’ Think about it. He spends his days either cooped up in here or at school, and he hasn’t diverted from the routine in the last two weeks. The odds suggest that he crossed paths with his soul mate at last night’s function. Did you see anyone remotely close to his age there? He’s going to become one of those pompous assholes’ _boy toy_.”

“Maybe there was someone there we didn’t see who would be more age appropriate?” Maria suggested.

Howard chuckled, the ice in his glass clinking. “Oh sure, I know exactly who. The murderer. Or perhaps the man with the metal arm?”

Tears welled in Tony’s eyes. He tried to pretend he was still unconscious, but he couldn’t stop himself from shifting in discomfort on the bed he was lying in.

Maria shushed Howard. “He’s waking up.”

“Fantastic,” Howard spat out the word.

Tony screwed his eyes shut and rolled over to bury his face in his pillow.

Howard stomped over to him and whipped Tony onto his back.

Tony’s eyes flew open to see his father scowling down at him. “Stark men don’t hide from their problems, Tony. None of this hiding behind your pillow nonsense.”

“Does your head still hurt?” Maria asked as she reached out to rub Tony’s temple.

Tony shook his head.

“Great, he’s fine. Congratulations, Tony,” Howard’s words came out soaked in venom. “You have crossed paths with your soul mate. This is a great time in one’s life yada yada yada. I’m going back to work.”

“Howard!” Maria chastised, but Howard was already out the door.

A tear fell down Tony’s face and he brushed it away as quickly as possible. “I’m sorry.”

Maria squeezed Tony close. “You did nothing wrong. Your father is just concerned and doesn’t know how to show it. You scared us there for a moment, Tony. We almost took you to the hospital.”

Tony sniffled and bowed his head. “Am I really going to be someone’s boy toy?”

Maira winced. “Don’t let what your father says upset you. Whoever your soul mate is, they will love you unconditionally. Understood?”

Tony nodded his head, but the contempt in his father’s voice made him doubt.

* * *

Over the next week Tony learned something about his soul mate.

Their left shoulder was always in pain, and whatever caused the pain also put some strain on their neck too—or so Tony assumed. Only the left side of his neck tingled, and it was so faint that Tony hadn’t noticed it right away.

Tony’s brain had immediately gone to the man with the metal arm when he first experienced the shoulder pain, but he did not voice his thoughts to anyone on the matter. Instead, he spent days mulling over if he should attempt to take away some of his soul mate’s pain.

It had been scary the first time to do so, not at all like the movies, but if it were Tony in pain everyday, he’d really appreciate it if his soul mate could take on some of that pain.

Tony breathed deep as he sat on the edge of his bed and braced himself.

He wanted to be a good soul mate.

He chased the tingling sensation around his shoulder until a burning pain consumed his shoulder.

Tony hissed and clutched his shoulder. The pain wasn’t nearly as bad as the first time he’d taken his soul mate’s pain, but it still hurt greatly. It felt like his muscles were on fire and as if he were carrying a ton of bricks with one arm.

Tony closed himself off to the pain.

He took a few deep breaths then tried again.

He spent hours and days accepting and rejecting the pain of his soul mate until the burning sensation was like white noise in the back of his mind.

He hoped his soul mate enjoyed their reprieve.

* * *

The Asset prodded his left shoulder as his handlers drove him to the location of his next target.

The pain was gone.

He frowned behind his facemask.

The Asset knew a lot about pain, and he knew that unless one of the doctors or his handlers had given him something that blocked off his pain receptors then he should be feeling the constant pull and tug of the arm on his muscles and nerves.

The weight was still there, but there was no agony to it.

Something was wrong.

Something was wrong with him.

He should report the flaw to his handlers.

The Asset clenched his jaw.

The flaw was… a flaw, but one to his benefit. Less pain meant he could fight more efficiently. Unless the flaw proved detrimental, his handlers did not need to know.

* * *

The Asset did not know how much time had passed since he’d been taken out of Cryo. All he knew was that his doctors and handlers were different.

He yanked on his tactical gear as one of his new handlers explained to him his mission.

The Asset’s right palm tingled.

The Asset stopped dressing to stare at his palm.

He saw nothing wrong with it.

He went back to getting dressed. When the task was completed, his handler held up a picture of the target for him to see. The handler had the Asset repeat the information about the target’s schedule and habits. The Asset would make it look like a suicide this time.

An hour later, and he was in transit. His palm still tingled.

He focused on that sensation. It wasn’t caused by numbness. This was something different.

The Asset closed his eyes and willed himself to find the source.

A sharp sting replaced the tingle.

The Asset grunted and flexed his fingers.

It felt like a knife wound.

The Asset was very curious now.

* * *

Tony stared down at his palm in awe.

A bandage was wrapped around his palm where he’d cut himself with a knife when he’d tried to help Jarvis in the kitchen.

He felt no pain though.

Two years ago he’d crossed paths with his soul mate and in that time his soul mate had never taken his pain away from him. He understood though. His soul mate was in a lot of pain most of the time, so they probably didn’t want to endure more.

Tony curled his hand into a fist and hugged it to his chest. Tony could have dealt with the pain, but the fact that his soul mate had taken it away from him—he cherished that so much more.

* * *

Tony was alone in his room and hunched over his his shattered robot dog. His dad had always said the dog was a waste of Tony’s talents and he’d always wrinkled his nose when he saw Tony playing with the dog. So Tony had spent the last month upgrading his dog so Howard would be proud. He really thought he’d done an amazing job.

Howard hadn’t thought so.

He’d thrown the dog across the room, then picked it up, took it down to his workshop, and tore it apart.

It would take months for Tony to repair the dog, and honestly, he wasn’t even sure if it would be worth it. What if Howard just broke it again?

Tony’s skull began to tingle.

Tony tensed as the vivid memory of the first and last time such a sensation had occurred returned to him.

He could ignore his soul mate’s plight.

He didn’t want the pain, and so far his soul mate had only taken his pain once.

 _“Completely useless! A disgrace!”_ Howard’s shouts from before echoed in Tony’s ears.

Tony screwed his eyes shut. No, he wasn’t completely useless. He could do at least one thing right.

Tony opened himself up to his soul mate’s pain and screamed as their agony came rushing at him all at once.

* * *

The Asset kept his head down as he trudge through the small town library. He wasn’t supposed to be here, and he’d more than likely end up in the chair for his disobedience, but he needed answers.

He’d been wanting answers for some time, but now the desire was unrelenting.

Before his handlers had put him in Cryo again, they’d wiped him. His memories were as muddled as ever, but a few things stood out too starkly to be erased. His arm no longer hurt him and two times now he’d been put in the chair and other than the initial pain, he’d felt nothing but the pulse of electricity.

Something was happening to him, and he needed to find out what.

He skimmed the shelves for encyclopedias. He picked out one and flipped to a section on pain. He skimmed the page until he came across something that tugged on his memory but that he couldn’t recall the fine details of.

 _Soul mates_.

The passage on pain and soul mates was very brief, so he shelved the book and searched for the encyclopedia that would contain information on soul mates. When he found it, he hurriedly flipped through the pages until he located the desired passage inside. He read fast, his eyes darting up every few seconds to make sure danger wasn’t approaching.

Soul mates could take away each others’ pain once paths cross.

The Asset had a soul mate?

The Asset shook his head. The Asset was a thing. It did not possess a soul; therefore, it could not have a soul mate.

But what if it did?

The Asset wanted to rid itself of such a traitorous thought, but could not.

The thought rung too loudly in his head.

* * *

The Asset was recovered and put in the chair.

Once again there was no pain.

Without the pain it felt easier to keep his memories.

His memories were faded, ripped apart, and mixed like a mosaic, but there was some clarity to them.

He remembered what he’d learned.

A soul mate.

He had a soul mate. He shouldn’t have one, but he did.

He had a soul mate and they were taking his pain away even though they didn’t know what he was.

The Asset’s chest ached, but in a manner he had never experienced before.

It felt good.

* * *

“God damn it!” Tony flung the beer bottle across the room and fell to his knees. He buried his face in his palms and screamed, just screamed until his lungs burned.

Howard and Maria were dead.

Tony punched the plush carpet of his living room floor.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

He still hadn’t proven to Howard that he was just as good as him—that he could create things just as amazing  as Howard could.

And his mom…she…

Tony punched the floor again and again, uncaring of the shards of glass that littered the ground. He hissed as the glass sliced open the side of his hand and embedded itself deep. He didn’t care. He just didn’t care.

* * *

The Asset squeezed the side of his hand and brought his fist close to his face. The tingling sensation was different this time. It was actually two very different tingles at once. One went deep into the side of his hand, while the other reverberated, flashing in and out.

The Asset should not look into the sensation—should not form a connection with his soul mate that was any stronger than it already was.

His curiosity was rampant though.

Something had jabbed itself into his soul mate’s hand. Very sharp, and with edges that poked and prodded. The reverberating sensation had to be his soul mate punching something. The pain felt exactly like that of an ill-thrown punch upon impact.

Who or what was his soul mate hitting?

* * *

Tony sifted through the files in Howard’s office.

He’d just finished attending his parents’ funeral, and he just wanted to finish packing up Howard’s many works and blueprints so he could lock them away in a safe and forget about them until he was thirty or some other god awful age. He wished he could just pick it all up and throw it in a box, but there were also contracts and bills among Howard’s notes and schematics. Tony couldn’t risk such important items getting lost in the shuffle, so he had to be meticulous.

Tony froze when he came across a file with his name and the word soul mate on it.

His heart pounded in his chest.

Had Howard somehow discovered who Tony’s soul mate was? No. He couldn’t have. That would be the kind of thing Howard would have held over Tony’s head to keep Tony in line. So if Howard didn’t know who Tony’s soul mate was, then what was in the file?

Tony flipped the file open and read its contents.

His heart sunk with guilt and sorrow.

His dad had been trying to find Tony’s soul mate. Howard had compiled all the data he could about the people who had been at Mr. Hampenstairs party so many years ago. Howard quickly dismissed anyone Tony had met before as a possible soul mate. Then he had hacked down the number of possible people. Howard had then gotten a hold of the remaining people’s medical records over the years and compared their hospital visits to times when Tony had blacked out from his soul mate’s pain.

Howard hadn’t discovered who Tony’s soul mate was, but he had learned one thing: no one at that party could have been Tony’s soul mate.

At least, no who had been invited.

* * *

The Asset had just finished killing a man and making it look like the target had hung himself when he felt a great pressure on his chest.

The Asset stopped in the middle of cleaning up the trail of clues he’d left behind at the scene.

He touched his chest.

The pressure was far greater than anything the Asset had felt before from his soul mate. He was far more used to the faint thrums that came from his soul mate tripping, followed by the pounding headaches of a hangover hours later.

This—he didn’t know what _this_ was, but it made his heart twinge and his breath quicken.

The Asset glanced at the clock on the wall. He still had plenty of time before anyone was expected to arrive at his target’s home, and the recovery team also wouldn’t be showing for a little while longer.

The Asset opened himself up and immediately fell to the ground.

He gasped for breath and clawed at his chest. His chest! His chest! Something was in his chest! It burned! It—it!

He blacked out.

* * *

His soul mate was alive.

The Asset winced as the voltage to the chair was raised. His body shuddered under the current, but he didn’t feel the pain in his brain. No, he felt the pain in his chest where a knife was cutting his soul mate open and stuffing something metal inside.

The Asset screamed.

* * *

Three months later and the Asset always had a handler within two feet of him unless it interfered with him taking out his target, and even then his handler was never very far. They’d heightened the voltage of the chair and more frequently wiped him, but it was as if the memories of his soul mate were permanently etched into him. He couldn’t forget them. They’d gain a natural haze that came with time, but he could always recall them, and he knew despite having only passed each other by chance, his soul mate had shown him more kindness than anyone.

His soul mate took on his pain even though during many of their years of pain sharing the Asset had only a handful of times taken on his soul mate’s. And during the last three months his soul mate had suffered greatly and still taken on his pain.

It made the Asset want to return the favor, and so he did.

Even now he felt the constant ache and weight of his soul mate’s chest. Something had been implanted there. Something metal and unnatural.

Like the Asset’s arm.

Was that what made them soul mates? Because they were machines?

Except his soul mate wasn’t.

The Asset wasn’t either.

That was the other thing his soul mate had given to him: a sense of humanity.

Hydra would beat it out of him if it ever learned what he’d gained.

The Asset snapped out of his thoughts as the target walked into the their apartment. A woman. She was someone who looked like any average woman on the street, not the kind of woman who Hydra would target, but it wasn’t his job to question his superiors.

The Asset adjusted his pose—he was kneeling on the rooftop across the street from the woman’s apartment.

The Asset aimed and shot the target clean through the window.

She died without making a sound.

“Good job,” one of his handlers said with a grunt. “Let’s clean up and move out.”

The Asset nodded and did as told.

All evidence had to be removed.

Not long after he was in the getaway van. The vehicle stopped at a red light, and the Asset peered through the windows as a voice blared loudly out from the closest store.

Seven televisions showed the image of a well-dressed man as he spoke to the press.

The Asset tensed. That _face_. It belonged to one of his past targets. It belonged to—

No… That face was different. A relative perhaps, but the man was not Howard Stark.

The Asset’s eyes drifted down the banner across the bottom of the TV screen.

 _Tony Stark_.

Tony Stark waved away the press, his hand going to his tie to fiddle with it as he left the scene. His collar was already loose and his top shirt button undone.

It gave just the tiniest glimpse of something metal under the shirt.

The Asset touched his chest.

* * *

Something was wrong with his soul mate.

The way the Asset’s chest tingled was not normal. He opened himself up to the pain and felt the air ripped right out of his lungs.

He couldn’t breath and his heart was beating out of his chest.

For a few precious minutes he lay in his cell, wishing for the pain to end and dreading what it would mean when it did.

Relief washed over him as oxygen returned to his lungs.

* * *

Shortly after that, news had broken across the world that Iron Man was Tony Stark.

Hydra was not pleased, and began looking more into Iron Man. They had even found information about that battle between Stark and Stane.

That’s how the Asset learned just how injured Tony Stark must have really been during that press released.

He also realized that the same places Tony Stark had been injured were places where he had felt the pain of his soul mate after their shared heart attack scare.

* * *

The Asset sifted through old files on his targets until he came to the target that marked the beginning of the shared pains.

It took months—years—to collect all of the information and not get caught. Some of his sources had come from Hydra, but most of it had come from research done between eliminating his targets and the recovery team coming to collect him. Eventually he found what he was looking for:

Tony Stark had been at the Hampenstair residence that night.

The Asset dug more. He did his best to create a timeline based off his medical chart and what he could find of Tony Stark’s medical history; the man was very good about keeping such information secret. It made things challenging for the Asset.

The Asset liked it.

He was always challenged physically by others, but not mentally. It made sense; he wasn’t supposed to think, so why would anyone challenge him to a game of wits?

Perhaps if someone had they would have learned just how much control he’d regained over the years.

The Asset was going to run. He didn’t know when or how—just that when he did make his escape he’d better bring a knife to extract the five tracking devices in his body.

* * *

Tony ate his shawarma slowly as he looked around the table at his teammates, or whatever the hell they were to him. He was too tired to contemplate social relations. Throw quantum physics at him and he wouldn’t care, but the complexities of human interaction were just too much right now.

He groaned when the pain in his lower back vanished. He didn’t know what he’d done to suddenly receive his soul mate’s help so often, but ever since Afghanistan his soul mate had been more proactive in taking his pain away from him. Tony still couldn’t rely on them to always take away his pain, but he appreciated the times when they did.

“Got to be around for the first alien invasion,” Steve mumbled to himself.

“Was it worth it?” Tony asked.

“Ask me again tomorrow.” Steve hung his head back and slumped in his chair.

Poor guy needed rest and he was going to have to sleep on one of those horrible SHIELD beds too. Were they even beds or just cots? Either way it would suck. The food over there probably sucked too.

Tony’s eyes flickered around the table again. Bruce would need a place to stay for the night since he definitely would not want to stay at SHIELD Headquarters. Natasha and Clint were in the same boat as Steve, and Thor... well, Thor was supposed to be some kind of alien prince, but he was also very laid back, so who knew what his reaction would be to SHIELD’s living quarters.

“Sleepover at my place?” Tony asked.

“An actual sleepover or a group orgy?” Clint asked.

Steve choked on a bite of shawarma.

Tony shrugged. “Only if the orgy is after a nap.”

“Ah, yes, group coitus after a long battle is truly magnificent and a splendid idea, but I would prefer a few more women folk if we were to do so,” Thor said.

Clint quirked an eyebrow at Thor. “You just get more interesting every time you open your mouth.”

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. “No sex.”

“Agreed,” Natasha said.

Steve was still flushed. “We barely know each other.”

Now that was an interesting response. “What was that, Cap? You’re protest is that we don’t know each other? Does that mean if we become besties we can have an orgy with you?”

“Stark,” Steve warned.

“I’m just curious.”

“You’re pushing it.”

“Where’s the ‘no?’”

“Shut up.”

Tony snickered and rubbed his left shoulder, feeling an extra twinge of pain from something his soul mate had done.

He was so going to get all of these guys to move in with him.

* * *

There was upheaval in Hydra after the alien attack on New York. A few secret agents that had been deployed into SHIELD had been killed. Some of the research Hydra had been using SHIELD as cover for was now unobtainable due to a few higher ups in the spy agency.

SHIELD was still under Hydra’s control, but Hydra did not appreciate the threat to its machinations. There were talks of plans to get rid of the high ups in SHIELD who were getting too close to discovering Hydra and its secrets. The Asset knew it was only a matter of time before they’d sic him on them.

He also knew this was the best time for him to escape, while Hydra was still floundering.

He waited to receive another mission.

He let them take him to the designated spot when a mission finally came his way.

Hydra no longer required that his handlers be nearby—his behavior had been good for the last few years, so they thought it was safe to allow him space to do his job. One handler stayed around this time though, most likely due to the chaos in Hydra—someone felt the need for extra caution.

His handler had decades of fighting experience, but he wasn’t cut throat enough—his moves too sluggish and uncertain.

The Asset disposed of the handler in seconds.

He remained in his designated spot, and cut out the trackers.

There was one in his neck, close to an artery. The second was in his right arm, also close to a vein. The third lay in his lower back, and the fourth in his foot.

The fifth one—that one was tricky.

The Asset had seen his medical charts and knew there was a tracker right around the elbow of his metal arm.

The Asset picked out his best knife and rammed it into his elbow, prying the metal apart, piece by piece.

When he was done, he stuffed the trackers into his handler’s coat then ran off into the night.

* * *

Tony grimaced and rubbed his left elbow. He cut off the flow of pain.

“You okay, Tin Man?” Clint hollered from the couch in the living room. Steve occupied the chair next to him and was drawing.

Tony gritted his teeth and rubbed the tender spot. “Yeah, fine.”

“Your soul mate sending you some pain?” Clint teased.

A lot of pain, and it felt weird too, like an echo. It was sharp, but not fully there, which didn’t make sense. It was just such an odd sensation to describe.

Tony opened himself up to the pain again then shut it off immediately.

He was already dealing with the stinging throbs and burns at his neck, right arm, back, and foot (what the heck had happened to his soul mate?) in addition to his soul mate’s shoulder pain. As much as he wanted to take on all of his soul mate’s suffering, that echo-like and sharp sensation was just too much for him.

“Tony?” Steve sat up and put his sketchpad down. “Are you sure everything is okay?”

Tony waved Steve off. “Don’t worry about it. Just a few little cramps here or there.”

Steve frowned. He opened his mouth to speak.

“I’m a big boy, Cap, I think I can handle a little pain. Honestly, you’re being ridiculous. After everything that happened with Loki this is no big deal.”

Steve shut his mouth, but looked like he wanted to argue.

Tony grinned and headed toward the elevator; he needed to escape before Steve changed his mind and decided to lecture Tony. “Just take a chill pill and calm down, or ask Bruce for his special brownies. I hear they are really good for getting people to relax.”

And with that Tony escaped down into his lab.

* * *

The Asset craned his head back to stare at the tower that had once had the Stark Industries logo on it. Instead a large letter “A” stood where the company logo had been.

He’d hidden his tactical gear under civilian clothing. A long-sleeve shirt, a pair of over-sized jeans, and a hoodie to hide his face from the many street cameras, covered him.

The Asset frowned and mulled over his best plan of entry. He’s gotten access to the tower’s blueprints, and knew the person he was looking for would be near the top, but not quite. Going in through the front door wasn’t impossible, but odds were he’d be caught. The buildings nearby would get him to one of the higher floors if he launched himself from one of their rooftops. He wouldn’t know what floor he would end up on though, and then he’d run into the same issue with security.

The Asset mulled it over and decided on the vents. He didn’t like them because they would limit his escape routes if everything went south, but his choices were also limited.

He found an opening into the ventilation system and snuck inside. His movements were slow and awkward in the narrow shaft, and he often paused to be certain no one had heard him.

He spent hours climbing up the many floors, and somewhere in the back his mind he knew that if he’d been anyone else, he’d never have made it so far without a break to catch his breath.

He reached a vent cover and used it to determine his location.

An Iron Man gauntlet lay on the coffee table.

The Asset’s heart jumped. This had to be Tony Stark’s floor.

The Asset closed his eyes and listened carefully for another person’s presence.

Someone was standing next to the vent. Their breathing was heavy and their heart was pounding.

They knew he was there.

The Asset kicked open the vent and flung himself out of it, all while drawing his gun.

Tony Stark aimed a powered up gauntlet at the Asset’s head, while the Asset aimed a gun and the genius’.

“All right, pal, just who the hell do you think…” Tony trailed off. His eyes were glued to the Asset’s metal arm.

The Asset yanked out a knife and slashed himself across the cheek.

Tony Stark yelped in astonishment and retreated a step. His hand flew to his cheek, and his eyes widened.  

The Asset sheathed his knife. “I’m your soul mate.”


	2. Chapter 2

What the hell? _What the hell!_ Tony’s brain raced through so many emotions and thought processes at once, he felt like he’d slammed his head into twelve brick walls and was stumbling around like some cartoon character with stars over his head.

Also, Tony could not stop staring at that arm.

After almost forty years he’d met the guy with the metal arm again! How on—wait! How did he know this was the same guy? Forty years? This guy was mid-twenties to early thirties at most. He couldn’t have been the same person Tony had seen all those years ago.

But the probability of someone having the same arm and on the correct side of his body no less…

And the cut to his cheek…

_What the hell!_

Tony flexed his fingers. “If you’re my soul mate, why are you still aiming your gun at me, and why did you break into my home?”

The man quirked an eyebrow at Tony. “Why are you still aiming your repulsor at me?”

“I’m not the one who broke into your home!”

“Hurt yourself,” the man demanded.

“What?”

“Your cheek is tingling where I cut mine, correct? Harm yourself now and I’ll take away the pain. That will be enough proof, no?”

Tony stood indecisively in front of the intruder. Because while logic dictated that his soul mate was older, it also said that this man _had_ to be his soul mate. Tony could sense the man’s pain, and the odds of there being another man with a metal arm on his left side was extremely unlikely.

Tony raised his uncovered hand to his mouth. He paused with his fist inches from his lips. His eyes met the stranger’s.

Blue eyes met his in challenge.

Tony bit down hard on his hand.

He felt a spark of pain, only for it to disappear a second later.

The man flexed his hand.

Tony lowered his fist but kept his armed hand up. “Okay, you're my soul mate. What are you doing here? Come to murder me?” Because if this somehow was the same man Tony had seen all those years ago, then there was a real chance that he was talking to a murderer.

The man didn’t answer right away. Instead he cocked his head to the side. His eyes skimmed over Tony briefly. Slowly, he lowered his weapon. “I need sanctuary.”

“And I was the first person you thought to come to? What? No family or friends? Just some stranger?”

The man touched his chest, right where the arc reactor was settled on Tony’s. “A stranger in only some ways.”

“Poetic.” Tony turned his head away for just a second, unwilling to think about the implications of the man’s movement. Tony’s arm dropped by two inches, but he wasn’t ready to lower his weapon just yet.

Suddenly the elevator door burst open and Steve came in with his shield at the ready. “Tony, are you—” Steve choked on what he had to say. “Bucky?”

“Who the hell is Bucky? Unless you’re talking about—” Tony said, just as the mysterious man fired off a shot at Steve.

Steve blocked.

Tony yelped.

The man charged at Tony, grabbed him, and pinned him to his chest before Tony could send off a repulsor blast. The muzzle of the man’s gun brushed Tony’s temple. It was hot from its recent firing, and Tony winced at the burn, only for his pain to fade. He glanced curiously up at his captor.

“Drop your weapon,” the man commanded Steve.

Steve looked like a lost puppy. “Bucky…”

“Drop. Your. Weapon,” the man commanded.

Steve was torn.

Tony raised his gauntleted hand up at the man’s face. “I’ll shoot.”

“You’ll kill us both.”

“Not a bad way to die,” Tony countered.

“Tony, no.” Steve rushed at Tony, lunging for the gauntlet.

The invader shot Steve in the chest.

Tony screamed and reached out for Steve.

Then suddenly there was a dart in his neck and he was falling to the ground.

* * *

“Are you shitting me?” Tony exclaimed as he held an ice pack to his neck.

Steve cringed. He glanced at the containment cell that had been built for the Hulk, but was now housing a pissed off James “Bucky” Barnes, or as Natasha liked to call him “Winter Soldier”.  Apparently, Tony’s soul mate was a man who was supposed to have died seventy years ago but had somehow ended up in the hands of Hydra and was now one of the top assassins in the world.

Tony would bang his head on a wall if it wasn’t his moneymaker.

Also, Tony was royally pissed at Clint for darting him in the neck. Darting James—Winter—whoever the hell the man was, was one thing, but why Tony? That had clearly been some sort of revenge for all the times Tony had beat Clint at Mario Kart.

“Well?” Tony demanded of his three teammates, two of which were acting like he was freaking out over something minor.

Natasha eyed Bucky—James—Soldier, or whoever he was, like she was trying to solve a puzzle. “The surveillance footage shows that he came to find you.” She glanced at Tony. “He’s your soul mate.”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. He felt like he was being picked apart by her gaze. “Apparently.”

Clint whistled lowly. “Wow. That’s amazing. No, really. What are the chances of you two ever meeting? He was born in the 1920s and you in the 1970s. He’s supposed to be dead, and you—”

“We all know the backstory,” Tony snapped.

“They made him a weapon,” Natasha said, her eyes glued to James. Her gaze cut to Tony. “You really don’t understand what it means if he came here of his own free will.”

“I know it can’t be anything good,” Tony said.

“Tony, please,” Steve pleaded. “I know this is all very strange, but—”

Tony raised his hand up to silence Steve. “Before you continue that sentence, let me ask you this: what you’re about to say, are you saying it because you truly believe I don’t have a reason to be concerned that an assassin—possibly former—broke into my house? Or are you saying it because he is your friend?”

Steve straightened. Anger flashed through his eyes, and suddenly it was “Captain America” and not “Steve Rogers.” “I’m saying you should come at this with an open mind, because at this point we don’t have all of the facts, and there is the very real possibility that he needs our help.”

“And if he doesn’t,” Clint piped in, “then he still has information on Hydra.”

“A terrorist group that Steve and I are only now just learning is still in existence even though it was supposed to have been destroyed decades ago.” Tony looked pointedly at Clint and Natasha.

Clint raised his hands. “Hey, first time I’ve heard anything about them actually still existing. I’ve only heard rumors and conspiracy theories until now.”

“And what’s your excuse?” Tony aimed at Natasha.

“I’m on Tony’s side with this one,” Steve said.

Natasha studied them before she answered. “It’s almost impossible to destroy such a large group. There will always be people who believe in that group’s values. Just look at other hate and terrorists groups. Just because a few extremists pledge themselves to an organization doesn’t mean they are a real threat.”

“Considering these Hydra leftovers have the number one assassin on their side, I think they’re a real threat.”

“Had,” Natasha corrected. She stepped up to Tony and stared him down.  “Talk to him.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“He is your soul mate, and whether or not that means something to you; it means something to him if he came here to find you.”

“And what if that is what he wants? Make me trust him then kill me or one of you?” Tony turned to Steve. “If he really does work for Hydra then you’re probably his real target. We can’t let you near him.”

The corner of Steve’s mouth twinged. “I think I can handle myself.”

“Says the guy who got shot in the chest.” Tony patted Steve on the chest; he could feel the bandage under Steve’s shirt where the bullet hole was covered.

“The bullet missed.”

“Barely.”

“You’re too emotional,” Natasha aimed at Steve. “Tony may be James’ soul mate, but he’s paranoid enough that he will keep his guard up, unlike you, Steve.” Her face softened with compassion. “It is obvious you care about him. He will use that against you.”

“You’re acting like he’s our enemy when a moment ago you were fighting for him,” Steve stated. “What is your goal here, Romanoff?”

“If he broke his programming then I want to support him, but until we can be sure, I’m not letting my guard down. None of us should.”

“I’m with Nat on this,” Clint said. “I trust her with this.”

Steve’s fists clenched. He swallowed down his words and casted a frustrated and longing look at his once best friend. “I want to help him.”

“And we will, but not until we know his mental state. The only way to do that is to engage with him.” Natasha turned to Tony.

Tony held up his hand to stop her from speaking. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m the one he came for, so he’s only going to talk to me, which means I get to hang out in the Hulk’s play pen with him. Yay, but I’m not going in there unprotected.”

“Any weapons you bring in there he can use against you,” Clint said.

“Not my gauntlet; it’s programmed for only me. I think I want a protective vest too, just in case we missed a weapon.”

“We didn’t,” Steve insisted.

“One of the world’s deadliest assassins? If he doesn’t have a weapon, I’m pretty sure he can make do.”

* * *

Tony swallowed hard as the door to the Hulk’s cell slid open.

James lifted his head and glared at the gauntlet on Tony’s hand.

The door slipped shut behind Tony.

“Starting to regret finding me?” Tony wiggled his gauntleted fingers in an imitation of a flirty greeting.

Even though James was the one in the more vulnerable position, he watched Tony with a deep intensity that shook Tony’s nerves.

“You should fear me,” James answered.

Tony stopped in the middle of the cell. “Come again?”

“You have no reason to trust me, outside of me being your soul mate.”

“Is this reverse psychology?”

The corner of James’ mouth quirked up. “I’ve killed many people. Sometimes even in rooms like this. Seemingly no weapon around. You just have to get creative.”

Tony’s throat went dry. “Yeah. Been there, done that. Kind of how I became Iron Man.”

James eyes flickered past Tony to the three Avengers who were watching the proceedings from outside. His blue eyes returned to Tony. “Was that during the three months?”

Tony’s heart stopped and he inhaled sharply. He’d only spoken about his time in Afghanistan in the broadest of terms. He could still remember being in a hazy state as his chest was cut into, adding to the pain of shrapnel clawing its way through his chest. It had been more agonizing than the first time he’d taken on James’ pain. Then suddenly it had stopped and what he felt was just the insertion of metal in his chest, of his skin and muscles being pushed and rearranged. It hadn’t hurt.

He had also felt the tingling sensation across his skull that he’d opened himself to many times in the past. He’d welcomed it then. The lancing, burning pain in his skull had distracted him from his chest being torn open.

It had hurt, but at least it was a familiar pain—almost comforting really.

There had been weeks during those three months in which his body had ached and hurt terribly. Then there would be weeks in which he felt blissfully strong. Those were the weeks when James had taken on his pain.

Looking back on it, their pain-sharing had been far more intimate than Tony had realized. James knew in deep detail what kind of torture Tony had gone through.

And if James hadn’t been an assassin that had spent decades working for a terrorist group, Tony might have just crumpled right there on the floor and hugged James.

The silence between them was heavy and poignant.

Tony couldn’t stand it.

“What do you want?”

James stared dead ahead.

Tony scowled. “Say something. You already said ‘sanctuary’ before. What other reason do you have, because you can’t honestly expect me to believe that you would risk your life on the off chance that I’d help you out when we don’t even know each other.”

James frowned, his stare going inward. “I’m not sure. No one has asked me what I want before.”

“No one?”

James shook his head. “I am—I was just a weapon. I am human now.”

Tony scoffed. “Maybe we should put you in a dunce hat, because in case you missed it: you’re human. Except for maybe that arm of yours.” Tony eyed the appendage. There was a lot of damage at James’ elbow. He wondered what the story was behind that.

“In flesh, but not in mind.” Once again those icy blue eyes stabbed Tony in the soul and held him in place. “Not in mind until you. You were kind to me when no one else was. You took my pain when I didn’t take yours. Even now you do.” James touched his left shoulder.

Tony flinched. He stopped himself from touching his shoulder. He was so used to the constant thrum of pain, he’d forgotten for a moment that the source of it was sitting in front of him.

James Barnes.

His soul mate.

Who would have ever imagined?

“Natasha said Hydra made you a weapon too.” Tony sat down in front of James and crossed his legs. “Mind telling me about it?”

James smiled, an expression that was dark and twisted. “Very well.”

* * *

James was intriguing.

He didn’t push for Tony to trust him. He didn’t play up the fact that he was Tony’s soul mate; although, he didn’t go out of his way to avoid the topic either. He spoke simply and curtly, which at times made him sound poetic. He revealed Hydra’s secrets like he was talking about the weather. When he dropped the bombshell about Hydra agents in SHIELD, Steve and Natasha had gone racing off to Fury.

It had been weeks since then and Fury was still hacking and burning away the traitors in his agency—not literally; although, Tony did wonder.

James had also been held captive for over a month and Steve was chomping at the bit to get him out of Hulk’s cell and into a proper room.

It irked Tony how pushy Steve was being, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted to let James out and watch how the man interacted with the world.

James certainly wouldn’t be spending any time with Steve. He scowled every time Steve referred to him as Bucky.

Tony had inquired about a name once, but James response had been: “I don’t need one.”

“Well, I need you to have one. I don’t like referring to you as 'former assassin' in my head,” Tony had half-lied. Yes, he thought of James as a former assassin, but ‘James’ was what Tony referred to him as in his head.

“Then don’t.” James had shrugged.

“So what? Do I call you ‘soul mate?’”

“If you like.”

Yeah, Tony had not enjoyed that conversation. He’d still take it over the ones in which James described in detail what Hydra had put him through.

Tony never would have guessed that all those times he’d taken on that blackout inducing pain in his skull that his soul mate had been strapped to a chair that was wiping away his memories.

James eyes as he told that story though…

His blue eyes had been filled with so much wonder and adoration for Tony that Tony had found himself choking down words. James showed very few emotions, even when in Tony’s presence. That had been the first time James had been so open and displayed something so positive that it had stolen every word and oxygen atom from Tony’s lungs.

It was the first time Tony experienced a moment devoid of any doubt about James’ intentions.

There had been several moments since then.

It was why Tony was so torn about whether or not James should be allowed to roam Avengers Tower freely.

“You are stressed,” James’ voice interrupted Tony’s thoughts.

They were seated across from each other. Their knees brushed.

Tony no longer wore his gauntlet during his visits with James.

“And how would you know that I am stressed?” Tony smiled, playing coy so as to hide his inner turmoil.

James’ flesh hand twitched as if he wanted to touch Tony. Instead he brought his hand up and bent forward so Tony could see his neck and spine. James traced his finger down the base of his skull to where his shoulders met below his neck. “I feel your pain here.” James straightened.

He stared imploringly at Tony.

Tony looked away. “Just a lot on my mind.” He rubbed his left shoulder. “I could upgrade your arm, you know? I’m an engineer and one of the best. I could make you an arm that is more lightweight. One that doesn’t cause you as much pain.”

“Don’t you mean it will cause you less pain?”

“Us,” Tony corrected. “It will cause _us_ less pain.”

* * *

“Tony, don’t let this affect what you’ve accomplished so far,” Natasha spoke softly as blue holo screens danced between her and Tony. “He’s getting better. What he did was because—”

“Of the programming, I know!” Tony snapped. He turned his back on Natasha and hunched over one of the desks in his lab. Tony slammed his fist on the table, sending papers and loose screws flying and rolling away. He slumped. “Just…give me time to process.”

Natasha frowned, but nodded her head. Her footsteps were silent as she left Tony to mourn.

Tony sighed and turned around to face the holo screens.

A Hydra file found hidden in SHIELD’s database displayed a picture of his parents’ car crash and a picture of James in Winter Soldier attire.

Tony slumped against his desk and fell to the floor.

* * *

“Why didn’t you tell me you had killed them?” Tony demanded of James.

James stared at his lap, lost. “I didn’t know how.”

Tony stormed off.

* * *

Tony spent over seventy-two hours locked in his lab. JARVIS and Steve had done everything short of bombing the door to get Tony out and into an actual bed.

His hands were covered in burns from wielding a soldering iron without proper protection and while sleep-deprived.

He didn’t feel any pain though.

Tony stumbled into the tiny room located on Steve’s floor (someone had decided to move James while he’d been locked away).

James grabbed Tony by the collar of his shirt and appeared to be about to deck him and throw him when he realized Tony was the one who had entered his room.

Tears gathered in Tony’s eyes and he glared at James.

James bowed his head. He cupped Tony’s hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over the burns and scars there.

For five minutes they just stood there in silence.

Finally exhaustion hit and Tony collapsed into James’ arms.

* * *

Tony woke in a stranger’s bed.

His eyelids fluttered open, and he looked around the slightly familiar room. He knew he was the one who had designed it, but some of the décor had been altered. The blankets and sheets were a calm blue where they should have been white. Or were they supposed to be gray? He couldn’t remember.

James was propped up against the side of the bed. His eyes were closed, but his body was ready to spring at a moment’s notice.

Tony sighed.

James slowly turned his head and looked at Tony.

Tony nuzzled the pillow under his head. “Morning.”

“Morning.”

Silence.

“I built a new arm while I was in the lab. It’s much better. Want to upgrade?”

James nodded cautiously.

“Good.” Tony yawned and closed his eyes. “I’m going to sleep some more. Don't let anyone attack while I’m resting.”

There was a beat of silence, then: “As you wish.”

* * *

James flexed his new metal arm and scrutinized it.

Tony beamed.

His left shoulder felt twenty times better.

James glanced at Tony. “May I feel it?”

“Feel what?”

“The pain. It’s so much lighter… I’m curious.”

Tony hesitated. “You sure? I’ve been taking on that pain for a long time now. You think you can handle it?”

James smiled softly. “I think it’s my turn to take on the burden.”

Tony shrugged. “Okay. Just remember: you asked for it.”

Tony rejected James’ pain, and suddenly it felt like he had no arm at all. It had been so long since he’s allowed James to feel the pain of his shoulder that Tony had forgotten what his shoulder was supposed to feel like without it. “Wow.” He touched his shoulder.

James grin grew as he touched his shoulder too. “Wow.”

* * *

“Someone is targeting you?” James demanded to know. He had Tony slightly pinned to a wall; he sometimes forgot what was considered rude/seen as intimidating.

Tony squared his shoulders and met James’ furious look with one of ambivalence. “It’s just some crazy old coot named Mandarin.”

“He’s threatening you.” James’ voice went ice cold.

Tony sighed and patted James’ bicep. “Calm down, tiger. I got it under control.”

James scowled.

Tony smiled. “What? Don’t trust me?”

“No.”

Tony blinked, having not expected the answer.

James grumbled. He wrapped his hand behind Tony’s neck and pulled Tony’s head toward his.

Tony sharply sucked in a lungful of air. It looked like James was about to kiss him. Tony had no idea if that was a good or a bad thing. James was his soul mate, but there were still so many—

James pressed their foreheads together.

Oh. That was nice too.

James closed his eyes and breathed in deep. “I don’t trust you not to hurt yourself. I have forty years worth of knowledge to back up my worry.”

Tony huffed. “I can say the same about you.”

The smallest smile curled James’ lips. “Then we are in agreement. We must stay together and protect each other.” James raised his head, and his lips brushed across Tony’s forehead. “ _Moya dusha._ ”

James pulled away.

Tony gaped. “Did you just...?”

James smirked.

“Are you sure you weren’t sent to kill me?”

“If I was, it will be the sweetest death I have ever given someone.”

The circuits in Tony’s brain overloaded. “I have no idea whether what you just said is sweet or creepy.”

James just smiled and held out his hand. “Together?”

Tony eyed James’ hand before taking it in his own. “Together.”


End file.
